Obesity rates hold steady

Data released Wednesday showed American obesity rates have stayed constant for five years for men and have stayed the same for 10 years among women and children. The trend leads experts to proclaim the percentage of people who are overweight has leveled off, The New York Times reported Wednesday.

Those percentages are not hopeful, officials said. Almost 34 percent of adults are overweight -- double the percentage 30 years ago -- and the percentage of obese children tripled during the past three decades to 17 percent, the CDC reported.

"Right now we've halted the progress of the obesity epidemic," said Dr. William H. Dietz, director of the Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity in the Center for Chronic Disease Prevention. "The data are really promising.

That said, I don't think we have in place the kind of policy or environmental changes needed to reverse this epidemic just yet."

Some experts don't see a leveling off in obesity as a cause for celebration.

"Until we see rates improving, not just staying the same, we can't have any confidence that our lifestyle has improved," said Dr. David Ludwig, director of the Optimal Weight for Life Program at Children's Hospital Boston.

Copyright 2010 by United Press International.